April8,2014:LiuXiaoLingTongmimicsthevariousexpressionsoftheMonkeyKingduringaspeechinBeijing.CFP
AscenefromtheTVproductionJourneytotheWest.Adaptedfromtheclassicalnovelofthesametitle,theseriesbecameaninstantclassicinChinaandisstillpraisedasthebestandmostauthenticinterpretationofthenovel.FotoeEarlythisFebruary,justbeforethearrivalofSpringFestivalandtheYearofMonkey,sensationalrumorsgrippedtheinternet:AreportallegedthataSpringFestivalgalaperformancebyLiuXiaoLingTong,bestknownastheMonkeyKingintheiconic1986ChineseTVadaptationof16th-CenturynovelJourneytotheWest,wascancelled.Theactoreventuallyexplainedthathewasneverinvitedtoperformatthegalainthefirstplace,butthefloodofdisappointedsentimentsignitedarevivalofinterestintheMonkeyKing.
ManydeclaredthattheinclusionofLiuXiaoLingTongshouldhavebeenanobrainerforplannersoftheSpringFestivalGalaheraldingtheYearofMonkey.AndtomanyChinesepeople,theactorismorethanjustanartistwhoonceportrayedtheMonkeyKing–heisthelegendaryfigure.
ADestinedRoad
Nearlythreedecadesago,atelevisionadaptationofJourneytotheWestproducedbyChinaCentralTelevisiongracedalmosteveryscreeninChina.OneofChina’sfourgreatclassicalnovels,consideredthepinnacleofpre-modernChinesefiction,JourneytotheWestwaswritteninthe16thCentury.AlthoughthecentralfigureofthenovelisactuallyTangDynasty(618-907)BuddhistmonkXuanzang,whotraveledtotoday’sCentralAsiaandIndiatoretrievesacredBuddhisttexts,manyreadersfeelliketheheroicMonkeyKing,oneofXuanzang’sthreeprotectivedisciples,istherealprotagonistofthenovel.Collateralevidencesupportsthissentiment:ArthurWaley’spopular1942abridgedtranslationwastitledMonkey:AFolk-TaleofChina.
LiuXiaoLingTongbroughtMonkeyKingtolifeinthe1986production,arolehewonthankstoaperfectcombinationofdestinyandluck:BornZhangJinlai,LiuXiaoLingTongwasbornintoarenownedartisticfamilyfromShaoxing,ZhejiangProvince.Forfourgenerations,everymaleinthefamilyreceivedspecializedtrainingtoplaytheMonkeyKingonstage.Hisgreat-grandfather’sportrayalwasdubbed“betterthantherealmonkey.”Hisfather,aveteranoperaperformerknownasChina’s“SouthernMonkeyKing,”receivedravesfromChineseleadersincludingChairmanMaoZedong.LiuXiaoLingTongnaturallybeganstudyingthecharacteratayoungage,butheneverexpectedtotakeoverforhisfather–becauseheistheyoungestof11children.
Hisfather’sfirstchoicetoinherittherolewashissecondsonwho,accordingtoLiuXiaoLingTonginhisautobiography,possessed“naturaltalentforplayingtheMonkeyKing,makinghimthemostsuitablesuccessortomyfather.”Unfortunately,however,hisbrotherdiedofleukemiaatage17.Anotherolderbrotherwhoalsotrainedfortherolepassedawayfromanintestinaldisease.“Everyoneinourfamilygotalittlescared,”revealedLiuXiaoLingTonginaninterview.“WastheMonkeyKingrolecursed,orunfitformeremortals?”
Althoughdestinyplayedamajorroleintermsofbringingtheactortotherole,LiuXiaoLingTongwasalreadyloggingpracticehoursevenbeforethesecondbrother’sdeath.Helearnedmartialartsfromhisfather,butalsolearneddirectlyfrommonkeys.Atonepoint,hewasraisingmorethan20monkeysinhishome.“Afterspendingmoretimewithmonkeysthanwithpeople,Iwasperfectfortherole,”hequips.
His“Only”Role
Aftergraduatingfromhighschool,LiuXiaoLingTongwasadmittedtodramaschool,whereheinsertedhismonkeyperformanceintoawidearrayofdramas.WhenplansforaTVadaptationofJourneytotheWestemerged,the23-year-oldwonthecovetedrole.
TheMonkeyKingdepictedintheoriginalnovelisexquisite,impish,andrebellious.Hepossessesimmensestrengthandcantransforminto72differentanimalsandobjectsaswellascastingspellsandusingmagic.ThemonkeyisaspopularinChinaasMickeyMouseintheU.S.,butwithalongerhistoryandstrongerculturalconnotations.“ProducersbelievedthatMonkeyKingwouldbedecidingfactorinthesuccessoftheTVseries,”revealstheactor.“Ifviewerslikedothercharactersmore,theserieswouldhavebeenconsideredafailure.”
The25-episodeseriestookatotalofsixyearstoshoot,anditwasfirstbroadcastinearly1986.Assoonasithittheair,theshowwasahit.AccordingtoasurveyfromHunanTV,theseriesaveragedaratingsshareof87.4percentin1987.Re-runscanbefoundonChineseTVtothisday.AnddespitethefactthatLiuXiaoLingTonghasbeencastinmanyrolessince,somecomparablywellknowninChina,peoplestillknowhimastheMonkeyKing.
RolesasiconicastheMonkeyKing,whichremainsahouseholdnameeverywhereinChina,canmakeorbreakanactor’scareer.Someactorspassonsuchriskyroles,butLiuXiaoLingTongwashappytomaketheMonkeyKinghislife’swork.“TheMonkeyKingrepresentsthewisdomoftheChinesepeople,”theactorhasstressedonmanyoccasions.Forhim,theimmortalityoftheMonkeyKingevidencesagrassrootshero’ssuccessafteralifetimeofperseveranceandpersonalstruggle.
PromotingJourneytotheWestCulture
Today,LiuXiaoLingTonghasembarkedonanewmissiontospreadJourneytotheWestculturebothinChinaandabroad.Hebelievesthatstory’skeythemesofteamworkandoptimismwilleasilyresonatewithmillennials.
Hehasdevotedallhisresourcestowardsthisend.TheambitiousactorhashelpedbuildtwomuseumsdedicatedtoJourneytotheWestandisbrainstorminganamusementpark.Foryears,hehasbeencontemplatingamovieversionfeaturinganinternationalcastandfusingtraditionalChineseperformanceartwithmodernWesterntechnology.In2015,hebegancollaboratingwithParamountPicturesonaChina-Hollywoodjointproductionbasedonthenovel.Perhapsmostimpressively,hehaslecturedatmorethan80universitiesoverthepastafewyears.“Iamafraidthattoday’syoungpeoplewillmissoutonrealJourneytotheWestculture,”hesighs.“Avoidingthisisnowmytoppriority,andIwanttomakesurefuturegenerationcanexperiencetheessenceoftheclassicalnovel.”
Healsonotedthatalthoughtheoriginalnovelisripeforavarietyofinterpretations,acertainlinemustbedrawn:Heroesshouldbeclearlydistinguishedfrommonsters.“Heroesareheroes,andmonstersaremonsters.PeopleshouldspendmoretimeunderstandingthespiritandoriginalthemesoftheMonkeyKing.”
LiuXiaoLingTong(left)hadhisfacepaintedbyhisfatherinthe1990s.Hisfatherwasalsofamouslyknownasthe“SouthernMonkeyKing.”Hisfather’sstagename,LiuLingTong,indicatesthathewasonlysixyearsoldwhenhestartedperforming.ICAscenewithLiuXiaoLingTongastheMonkeyKingintheTVseriesWuCheng’enandHisNovelJourneytotheWest.Althoughtheactorhasbeencastinmanyroles,heisprimarilyrememberedastheMonkeyKing.CFP“IretracedXuanzang’sstepsthroughIndia,”heconcludes.“Heisaninspirationasafigurewhodevotedhisentirelifetoasingleendeavor:retrieving,translatingandspreadingBuddhistsutras.Ihopetodothesamewithmonkeyculture.Thisismylife’swork.”
April29,2015:In-costumeLiuXiaoLingTong(left)nexttohiswaxfigureatMadameTussaudsWaxMuseuminBeijing.CFPApril3,2016:LiuXiaoLingTongperformsasMonkeyKinginHangzhou.Inrecentyears,hehasbeendedicatedtospreadingJourneytotheWestcultureatbothhomeandabroad.CFP